Dead body found at Jefferson County deer lease

The body of a deceased black female was found Friday afternoon, April 19, in a remote area just outside the Beaumont city limits on Tram Road, and following an outcry for the public’s assistance in determining the identity of the victim, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported that the agency was able to positively confirm her identify as 51-year-old Kimberly Grant of Crosby, Texas, in Harris County.

JCSO spokesman Deputy Rod Carroll said a man checking on an open gate to a deer lease on Tram Road found Grant’s lifeless body around 5 p.m. approximately 50 yards off the main road, and investigators worked to collect evidence at the scene of the discovery for the remainder of the evening.

“This is going to be a very long event for us tonight,” Carroll told The Examiner at the scene. “Collecting evidence is a really long, painstaking process.”

After the weekend passed, Carroll said investigators were still unsure of the victim’s identity, which prompted a Monday, April 22, press conference with the JCSO asking for the public’s help in identifying the Tram Road victim. JCSO Deputy Chief Zena Stephens said at the meeting that the victim was “someone’s mother, daughter, sister, aunt.” Stephens said it was a mystery as to why no one had reported the victim as missing, and at that time, investigators were unsure of whether or not the victim was from Jefferson County.

“We’ve already notified agencies in other parts of the area to let them know we have an unidentified victim,” she said. “Two things are odd: No one is calling to claim this victim, and no missing person report.”

Once the victim’s identity was determined, Stephens further said, “That will give us some direction on where to look for suspects. We have no idea … how she got out there. Once we identify her, we can start there.”

While the victim’s identity was still unknown, investigators were confident they were investigating a homicide. According to Stephens, the victim was killed by a gunshot wound. Once identified as 51-year-old Grant, investigators immediately started to search for the victim’s missing SUV, a gold-colored Cadillac SRX. The vehicle was found Wednesday, April 24, abandoned in Houston.

JCSO Deputy Carroll said the investigation is very active at this point and the agency is still asking that those with information related to Grant’s homicide to come forward. “The Criminal Investigation detectives would like to speak with anyone that might know why Ms. Grant may be in the Beaumont area or seen her vehicle. We believe that someone in the Beaumont area knows Ms. Grant or has seen her vehicle in the area.”

Anyone with information about Grant or her vehicle is asked to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at (409) 835-8734 or Beaumont’s Crime Stoppers at (409) 833-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 in cash for information leading the arrest of the person or persons responsible.

"This is going to be a very long event for us tonight," Carroll told The Examiner at the scene. "Collecting evidence is a really long, painstaking process."

Carroll said the cause of death is unknown at this time, as is the identity of the deceased. According to the deputy, the public's assistance may be needed to identify the victim. More information will become available as investigators complete analysis of the Tram Road scene.